Roger Goodell probably didn’t expect The Spanish Inquisition when he went to The Hill on Wednesday for a hearing entitled “Legal Issues Relating to Football Head Injuries.” But that’s what he got, courtesy of Steve King of Iowa (R-Nuts), who used it as an opportunity to grill Goodell on his opposition to Rush Limbaugh as a part-owner of the Rams.

But when the dust had settled from King’s attack, it was time for Rush himself to comment on the proceedings via his radio show. And that’s when the conservative talk host did a most remarkable thing: He took a page from the Barack Obama playbook. What? Has Rush Limbaugh become a liberal softy? See the quote and judge for yourself. Read more…

So it turns out that one of the other investors in Dave Checketts‘ potential St. Louis Rams ownership group is George Soros, the left-leaning billionaire who once vowed to use all his wealth to help defeat George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidental election. Soros and Rush Limbaugh, on the same team? What extraordinary bedfellows NFL capitalism begets. Montagues and Capulets, living together … utter chaos!

If nothing else, it just goes to show what formidable financial interests are at stake here, and why it’s no surprise that Limbaugh was left behind at the nearest bus stop once the heat was on. Whether the criticism of Limbaugh was fair or not, billionaires tend not to want a spare albatross as a necklace when trying to buy big, expensive things. Kind of ironic that the unchecked capitalism that Rush so openly worships is what ultimately did him in.

Meanwhile, Limbaugh took to the airwaves today to say that, when Checketts first approached him about being an investor, Checketts assured him that he (Limbaugh) had been “cleared by the highest levels of the NFL.” Wow, somebody’s lying. Read more…

Thanks to a rebuke of Rush Limbaugh by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Colts Owner Jim Irsay this week, the talk radio host was dropped from a group bidding to buy the Rams today. Cited as basis for the rebuke was Limbaugh’s past “divisive” comments. Though the subject of those “divisive” comments went unclarified by Goodell. Though Limbaugh as a racist was the operative translation.

(Rush vanquished by NFL Owners as Jay-Z welcomed by NBA Owners)

Now that Limbaugh’s personal bid has been reduced to tatters, onto other matters of import. From Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com this week:

I’d say we’re less than 24 hours from Limbaugh playing the Jay-Z card. Brother Jay owns a piece of the New Jersey Nets and has a library of rap tunes spewing the same kind of black-degrading lyrics, phrases and stereotypes that have made Limbaugh rich enough to buy a chunk of the St. Louis Rams.

Then there’s rapper Nelly, who holds a minority interest in the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats while happening upon a similar propensity for the debasement of women and black culture.

So how is it that two men responsible for such prolific dissemination of detestables have been unanimously affirmed as owners of major league pro sports teams, but Limbaugh was cast out from his mere attempt to join an NFL ownership group?

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Only hours after defiantly refusing to back off on his controversial bid to seek co-ownership of the St. Louis Rams, conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh has reportedly been dumped by his own ownership group.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Dave Checketts, chairman of the St. Louis Blues and head of one of the groups attempting to buy the Rams, will drop Limbaugh from the ticket, so to speak, and it will be soon. The talk host has been under fire from players, owners, pundits such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, for past comments that many view as racially insensitive. Checketts obviously feels that he is holding a losing hand, and must dump Rush if he is to save the bid. Read more…

Citing past “divisive“comments by Rush Limbaugh, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell effectively squashed the conservative talkshow host’s bid to buy the St. Louis Rams today.

(NFL: majority of you think Limbaugh is racist, Olbermann isn’t) 

Anyone outside of Limbaugh’s most devoted followers will allow that Goodell’s “divisive” was really a euphemism for “racist,” with the former employed in an attempt to avoid alienating Limbaugh’s millions of NFL-product-consuming worshippers.

At the very least, it’s not unreasonable to observe Limbaugh as a polarizing figure in the world of politics. But if Goodell is going to eliminate Limbaugh from formally associating with the NFL, what about a current, NFL-affiliated person well-known in the world of bipolar political exploration - Keith Olbermann (Co-host, NBC’s Sunday Night Football In America studio show.)

(NFL rebuke: most genuinely embarrassing moment of Limbaugh’s public life)

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Whether he gets the team or not, Rush Limbaugh’s bid to become part-owner of the St. Louis Rams is already the gift that keeps on giving. Several NFL players, the NFL Players Association, and even MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann have had their say on the potential buy-in by the taciturn-challenged talk radio blabber guy, but now at this hour other voices are elbowing each other to be heard.

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson on Monday not surprisingly came out against the notion of Rush owning an NFL team. But Limbaugh also got a surprising ally in Stephen A. Smith. Key quote from the cheesy-doodled one: Black players who say they wouldn’t play for a Limbaugh-owned team “are lying through their stinking teeth.”

Meanwhile, even Rush himself chimed in on the controversy. Read more…

Your new owner of the St. Louis Rams: Rush Limbaugh? I suppose one’s first reaction to this might be horror … will cigars and painkillers be freely dispensed in the locker room? Will Rams fans be known as Dittoheads? Defensive coordinator Michael Steele?

A group headed by Limbaugh and Dave Checketts made an offer to purchase the troubled franchise on Monday, and reaction around Rams Nation has been mixed. But when you think about it, isn’t Limbaugh exactly the kind of owner you’d want? Read more…

• Major League Baseball without steroids is like porn without the silicone.

Just don’t blog about the subject with Raul Ibanez.

• Rodney Harrison doesn’t like how the NFL has become “soft and pansy“.

• A Fox News morning show lambasts MTV for Bruno’s ass-ault on Eminem - then does a segment with a Fox reporter doing basically the same thing to a lingerie football player.

• Tim Floyd takes off from the Trojans. What, and leave the Song Girls?

• Soon-to-be newlyweds Kendra Wilkinson & Eagles WR Hank Baskett are expecting a baby. On the other side of the spectrum, Barry Bonds’ wife demands a divorce.

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I hesitate to mention this after yesterday’s mini-storm involving Rush Limbaugh, but another right-wing icon is in the sports news. That would be Bill O’Reilly, who, for whatever reason, would be the perfect rap duet partner, says the one and only Ron Artest.

The news broke on Twitter, as you knew it had to. Artest wants to make sweet, killer rhymes with the Fox News pundit. Or was he being sarcastic? After all, there was a LOL at the end of it. Read more…

The newest owner in the NFL just could be a portly individual with strong vocal chords and a problem with illegal prescription drugs. No, not Britney Spears. It’s political chatterbox Rush Limbaugh, the despot Teddy Ruxpin who has made a fortune marketing right-wing bravado like Pop Tarts (which is the only fruit he ever eats, apparently).

St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts is trying to put together a group to buy the Rams, and keep them in St. Louis (is this wise?). But Checketts needs more cash than he can currently get his hands on, and Limbaugh is on record as saying that he would like to be involved. And he can afford it — that cigar he’s smoking there is made of mortgage foreclosure statements and aged silver certificates.

Read more…